Lupe Fiasco’s sophomore album, The Cool, is Golden State Warriors All-Star guard Steph Curry’s favorite album, which he revealed during a recent interview.
Speaking on Mistah F.A.B.’s The Unc & Fab Show, Steph was asked what album he would choose if he could listen to only one for the rest of his life, and his answer may surprise fans of the NBC Bay Area show. According to the four-time NBA champion, Lupe Fiasco’s The Cool is No. 1 for him.
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“It’s Lupe Fiasco The Cool,” Steph said before he was asked if he was a fan of the Chicago native. “[I’m a] huge Lupe fan. I think that album — I don’t know how many Top 10 lists that album would come up on, but that for me, the time and place too. And he’s an amazing artist.”
The Grammy-nominated album was released in December 2007 and debuted at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the Top Rap Albums chart selling 143,407 copies in its first week. The album also stayed at the top of the Rap Albums chart for nine consecutive weeks.
Steph Curry may have used the album as inspiration, too, as he broke through in his sophomore season at Davidson College that year. He led the NCAA’s Southern Conference in scoring averaging 25.5 points per game while also adding 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists.
Davidson earned their first NCAA tournament win since 1969 when Steph Curry’s 30-point first half helped take down Gonzaga. The Wildcats also took down the No. 2 and 3-seeded Georgetown Hoyas and Wisconsin Badgers to advance to the Elite 8 but lost to the Kansas Jayhawks. Steph Curry poured in 25 points that game.
Lupe Fiasco has seen success with his own album too. Last year, The Cool was officially certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million units. In a conversation with HipHopDX, Lupe explained why the plaque was a huge moment for him.
“Hip Hop puts a lot into sales and certifications,” Lupe told DX. “So to achieve this milestone is great. It’s one of the things I’ve always wanted — the only thing that I hadn’t achieved in rap or in Hip Hop.
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“I’ve sold millions of records. I have platinum singles and multi-platinum singles: ‘Superstar,’ ‘The Show Goes On,’ and all that stuff. So I’ve had platinum plaques. But I’ve never had a platinum album. Food & Liquor’s gold, Lasers is gold, Food & Liquor 2 is gold, but I’ve never had a platinum record. So for me, it just solidifies my presence in the space, and it puts me in a new kind of category.”
Lupe also revealed The Cool is his favorite from his catalog: “Where would I rank it? It’s my number one selling record. I’ma start doing that, whatever sold the most is the best. That’s just easy, right? Who had album of the year? Whoever sold the most records. Cool? We’re done here. The Cool sold the most records so that’s the number one record. Listen, I’m not bullshittin’. Number one. It’s number one.”
